As of late 2022, the number of Chinese micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) exceeded 52 million, the total operating revenues of small and medium-sized industrial enterprises above designated size topped 80 trillion yuan, the innovation capacity of MSMEs was improved significantly, and more than 80,000 specialized, refined, distinctive and innovative enterprises, as well as 9,000 specialized, refined, distinctive and innovative "small giants" enterprises were fostered. The 7th UN MSMEs Day fell on June 27, 2023. The 18th China International Small and Medium Enterprises Fair (CISMEF), the 2nd SME International Cooperation Summit and other events charted a course for the innovative development of MSMEs. It is not hard to find that as an institutional guarantee for innovation incentive and an effective tool to enhance the market competitiveness of enterprises, IPR plays an irreplaceable role in the innovative development of MSMEs.
Injecting development momentum
"Innovation-oriented SMEs play an important role in sustainable development, technological advances, green solutions and new business opportunities; IPR protects SMEs' creativity in competition, growth and business development," said Marco Aleman, Assistant Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization, at the 2nd SME International Cooperation Summit on June 27.
According to the data from World Bank and other organizations, globally, MSMEs account for more than 90% of all enterprises, provide 70% of jobs, and contribute 50% of the GDP of developed economies and 40% of the GDP of emerging economies.
In China, MSMEs are the lifeblood of economic and social development, as well as an important source of innovation. Private enterprises, mostly SMEs, have jumped as China's largest foreign trade entities that contribute more than 50% of foreign trade growth, said Xu Xiaolan, Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology, at a previous press conference. In addition, 9,000 specialized, refined, distinctive and innovative "small giant" enterprises have fostered specialties, strengthened industrial support and won the market by innovation, with their R&D investment accounting for 8.9% and their R&D staff accounting for 28% on average. They have been involved in the formulation and revision of more than 6,000 national standards, and obtained more than 140,000 patents for invention.
Cultivating innovation soil
Such brilliant results have been inseparable from favorable policies. China has implemented the SME IPR project for 10 years in a row. With a focus on improving the quality and efficiency of SMEs' IPRs, enhancing the IPR operation of SMEs, stepping up public IPR services for SMEs, and optimizing the IPR management system of SMEs, the project has produced a number of SMEs with IPRs and competitive edge in the industrial chain.
In October 2022, IPR support for specialized, refined, distinctive and innovative SMEs was further upgraded. The China National Intellectual Property Administration and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the Measures for Intellectual Property Right Support for the Innovative Development of Specialized, Refined, Distinctive and Innovative Small and Medium Enterprises, setting forth 13 new measures in four aspects: improving the level of IPR creation, promoting the efficient use of IPRs, strengthening IPR protection, and enhancing IPR service support. These measures include giving full play to the role of green channels for patent and trademark examination, and supporting specialized, refined, distinctive and innovative SMEs in acquiring IPR protection efficiently; promoting the pilot practice of patent licensing; stepping up administrative rulings on patent infringement involving specialized, refined, distinctive and innovative SMEs; providing support for IPR financing services for specialized, refined, distinctive and innovative SMEs. In terms of IPR pledge financing, China's patent and trademark pledge financing benefited 26,000 enterprises in 2022, of which 70.5% were MSMEs.
Locally, IPR measures for SMEs have emerged endlessly. In the special event of "IPR Protection and High-Quality Development of SMEs" organized by the Guangdong IP Protection Association during the 18th CISMEF, Qian Yongcheng, First Class Counsel of the Guangdong Administration for Market Regulation (Guangdong Intellectual Property Administration), said it had issued the Three-Year Action Plan of Guangdong Province for the Protection and Use of Intellectual Property Rights of SMEs in Strategic Industrial Clusters(2021-2023), which focused on nine projects, including implementing the IPR SME strategy, enhancing the awareness of IPR protection, and strengthening the "tendons and bones" of SMEs. After three years of efforts, SMEs' level of IPR protection and use has been improved significantly, and the role of IPR in promoting the high-quality development of strategic industrial clusters has become increasingly prominent. In the past five years, the number of SMEs in Guangdong has surged from more than 3.8 million to more than 6.8 million, and the innovation capacity of SMEs has been improved significantly. There are currently 125 national-level specialized, refined, distinctive and innovative "small giant" enterprises in Guangdong Province, which ranked top in China in terms of the number of provincial-level specialized, refined, distinctive and innovative SMEs, as well as innovation-oriented SMEs.
SMEs linking numberless households are important forces of advancing innovation, promoting employment and improving the people's livelihood. If we properly use IPRs to help SMEs enhance their market competitiveness, they will shine brilliantly on the new journey of building a great Chinese-style modern country.